Managing a small farm, like most other projects with many interlocking parts, is like balancing a scale where the weights on each side of the fulcrum are constantly changing.

A few ideas guide my decision making:

Use composting, poultry pens and rotational grazing to improve the fertility and quality of our ground
Breed flocks of geese, ducks, chickens and sheep that are well suited to our methods and location
Fit the farm into the other parts of my life

Change one of the weights on the scale and I scramble to make it work; the weather and the ewes have me scrambling.

We’ve had about 1/2” of rain in the last month and high temperatures. My improving-thanks-to-rotational grazing pastures are brown and crunchy.
Lambing season begins in 7 weeks so I need to manage the increased nutritional needs of the flock to set them up for success, especially in the month before lambing.

So, to make sure the ewes get enough food, I will start feeding them some grain to supplement the round bale I’ve put in their paddock. Making sure they don’t get too much grain is tricky; get it wrong and I am dealing with oversized or undersized lambs, low milk production and ewes that struggle to stay healthy.

To make sure that we have some soil improvement, I’ve fenced off the poorest section of the North Field. Once we get some rain, the manure will help this poor pasture and the rested pastures will have time to recover.

As far as making my life easier? The hose can reach the troughs, the poultry tractors share the same field so I can be efficient when doing chores and with its proximity to the house, I can keep a close eye on the flock.

Lilac Hill Farm isn’t picture perfect but I do realize it is a process. Since we’ve started the carrying capacity of the pastures is improved, the flocks of animals are better suited to the farm and I have more experience so I can adjust my goals with my reality. Without losing too much sleep.